Daz has just released version 3 of their popular Studio application. Daz Studio is very similar in use and capabilities to Poser. Both have their strenght in character scenes, and both provide a good entry point for aspiring 3D artists for their fairly shallow learning curve and ease of use.
I haven’t used Daz Studio much in the past preferring to stick with the more familiar Poser, However as of late Poser has been gathering some dust for me as I’ve moved on to a few more full featured modeling tools. A few times now when I’ve needed to create a character for a scene I’ve opted for Daz Studio and feeling more comfortable with the interface.
Up until version 3 Daz Studio has always been a free application, with the release of version 3 Daz has now introduced a "Pro" version which is no longer free but at a very reasonable price, currently on sale for $50 and some change. A slightly toned down version is still available as a free download.
Several enhancements have been added in the areas of animation, texturing, and character morphing. They have also improved the rendering, which bottom line, while all the other things are important and useful, nothing is more important in my view than the final output. So I downloade the 30 day trial of the pro product and thought I’d do a test project. The results are the image below: (click for a larger view)
This was straight from Daz Studio with no real post work performed. Some like to do renders that have a cartoon or drawing like look, I much prefer to do images that are as lifelike as possible. I thought this came out close to achieving that goal. Her eyes don’t quite have what I would call a natural quality but that has more to do with the texture rather than the render engine. All in all I think its decent.
I’ve been using Daz Carrara for 3D modeling for the past few months, really just scratching the surface on how to use the tool. The past week or so I started working with Hexagon which is also from Daz. I received Carrara with an issue of 3D World magazine and picked up Hexagon last year during a leap year sale practically dirt cheap.
Both of these products are considered hobby level applications within the 3D modeling community yet both are also powerful enough to accomplish many complex tasks. Both also have a reputation for being buggy within the forums that I frequent. I suppose that it a sure sign that I’m still novice because I haven’t noticed any of the bugs yet.
Lately I’ve been thinking investments in 3D modeling tools. Of course there is the financial investment but there is also the investment of time. I am trying to decide if I should just stick with Carrara/Hexagon or if I should be looking towards something that is the next level up.
There are the pro level tools such as Maya and 3ds Max, but those are mega bucks as in needing to apply for a mortgage in order to buy them. However there are some mid level tools that I could afford by setting some money aside for a few months.
The major thing Carrara has going for it besides the fact that I already have it, is that it works very well with Poser, its fairly easy to move object from one product to the other. On the downside is the lack of formal training material, there are not many books and unlike the pro level applications, I know of no classes where Carrara is taught. Not to mention the bugs that I have not yet discovered.
The biggest risk of all is vendor support. Carrara 7 was just released however I have to wonder if some time in the near future Daz decides to drop the product. In today’s economy these things do happen, and at the core of why I am still looking for my tool of choice.
I have been spending most of my time the past few weeks learning, it’s a entirely new level of satisfaction to have created an entire scene or animation with materials created from scratch, and that’s the place I want to be. I’ve done a few quick projects and a couple of other things that I am working on by request. And still having a blast with it all.